So I bought the Willsenton R-800i
After I bought the Klipsch Cornwall IVs recently it became apparent quite quickly that to make it really shine it needs a tube amp to drive it. (For me at least.) After doing some (=endless) research, considering the options (budget, shops nearby carrying models I´m interested in, etc.) and also asking around on this very forum I decided to go for the Willsenton R-800i. None of my friends here shares my excitement for audio stuff or even has a comparable system, so what´s now in my living room is the one tube amp I know. And I´m delighted. Together with the speakers it gives the music the presence and glow that I so desired.
Of course I can tell that there´s more potential in this amp and I already exchanged some of the stock tubes. There are more on the way and I can´t wait to test them. For now my financial means are a bit limited so I´m not ordering Western Electric and Takatsuki 300Bs just for the sake of comparing them. In fact I´m waiting with those a bit and go for the others first.
Searching online I find a lot of information on English language forums. Somehow tube rolling is not discussed as much on the German forums I checked though – and out of curiosity (and because they were pretty cheap) I went for both West- and East-German ECC83s and a fairly random mix of other tubes from the US and the Soviet Union. I´m waiting for them to arrive and not being able to read about some of them it raises my curiosity how they will sound. Maybe crappy, maybe not so bad, maybe even very good. I´ll see. Tube rolling will take some time and I don´t mind. The amp is there to stay for quite a while.
There´s an exhaustive thread on the Willsenton amps and fitting tubes here but since I found people´s comments on this forum so helpful I´m looking forward to hear from you. I´m open for tube recommendations and would like to hear anyone´s experience with the Willsenton R-800i. Or maybe someone has questions?
As for the tubes:
805 – stock replaced for Cossor
300B – stock
6SN7 – stock replaced for Sylvania GTBs, waiting for Fonon NOS (Soviet, 1979, a bargain for 10€)
12AX7 – stock replaced with current Mullard model, waiting for West German ones from AEG and Telefunken, East German ones from RSD and Funkwerk Erfurt (both used) and also Sylvania JAN 5751 NOS (a military model)
5U4G – stock, waiting for RCA NOS black plate and Svetlana NOS „Coke Bottle“
@jbhiller I´m not at home at the moment, so I can´t say with a 110% certainty, but I´m pretty sure they´re not Linlai. I haven´t noticed the star shaped thing at the top and as far as I remember the socket is golden – just like the PSVane Hifi. I´d also be surprised if they put in a 450$ pair instead of a 140$ pair. Retail prices of course, but still. Maybe they couldn´t get hold of the PSVane and to fulfill the order took Linlai for yours? If so, congratulations! |
Thanks for pointing that out. For whatever reason on the website you link to I´m onlyn shown three Linlai 805s, while it even says there are 4 results. Strange.
Here I found the 805 I think you are talking about: |
Interesting! I'm still getting familiar with the amp. I've been listening to gear for decades so I'm pretty humble--I know that I need to really know the gear before I can truly say what's going on with real confidence. I think the tubes they ship this thing with are very, very good. The Russian 6sn7 are pretty great. They have big, deep and well defined bass. The cost of 300Bs and 805s is making me think it might be better to upgrade the capacitors in key locations. That said, you cannot tell what make they are due to the wrapping Willsenton puts on them. Many manufacturers do this. And, it's not always a sign they totally cheaped out. I'm thinking that dumping $200-$500 on the two caps linked to the gain stage/6sn7s will make the most difference. That's a reasonable figure compared to upgrading the driver 300bs. For now, I'm still running this guy in and enjoying every minute. This is a special amp indeed. I have an audiophile buddy coming over tomorrow to let him have at it. I respect his opinion. My ears are telling me this is a near reference level amp. Even with reduced labor costs, I don't know how Willsenton's margins can be that high given the parts quality. |
